Looks like we’ll be having some more changes in 3.1 that could change glyph and spec choices, etc.

Thanks also for looking into the sw:d thing a bit more. I’m glad to know it’s probably not hurting my dps too much by ignoring it, but it’s also useful to know there are times when I can and should be throwing it into the mix.

http://elitistjerks.com/f77/t37074-shadowpriest_raiding_basics_specs_glyphs/

“I also want to stress the importance of waiting for the full set of crit increasing debuffs before casting Shadow Word: Pain. While the spell damage modifying pain will change with your spell damage (like lifebloom does now), the crit modifier and shadow weaving stack are locked in (like lifebloom used to work).”

It was posted in November but I read in a few pages and checked the last few pages but didn’t see anyone disagreeing with it at all.

I did find some pretty interesting information on SW:D and how it should now only be used if you have less than 2 seconds before refreshing anything. If it’s 2+ seconds, using a clipped MF and only getting 2 ticks is worth more damage than SW:D.. but if it’s less than SW:D will provide more damage. Seems too micromanagement for me =\

So, IMO, if you leave it out or use it.. it’s not going to be game breaking.. but already having enough to manage in a raid encounter I’d say glyph it or drop it from the rotation. And like Leigh said, use it when you’re mobile since it’s instant and you might as well blow the cooldown.

The buff list information was taking from a post on Elitist Jerks. From what they’ve said, SW:P’s damage is recalculated from damage bonus buffs like shadow weaving, earth and moon, and anything that just boosts spell damage by X amount. What doesn’t change is the damage boosts it receives based on your crit % from the time you use the spell since Shadowform boosts DoTs by you crti %. So Elemental Oath or Totem of Wrath, Winters Chill, Moonkin Aura, Improved Scorch and the likes will continue to boost SW:P from the moment the spell is put up, if that makes sense. So in essence, yes, you want to wait until all the buffs are up and going before using SW:P so you get the most damage possible and you continue to refresh it at max damage. If you put up SWP at 18% crit and then Improved Scorch gets stacked, it’s not going to gain the 10% additional damage unless you reapply it so you might as well wait and put this up last.

Again, this is all based off of EJ theorycrafting but once I started waiting to post it up, it’s damage has jumped a ton and I did notice a huge difference in it’s overall damage. I dunno if it’s just a bug in the game mechanic or what but waiting paid off for my DPS.

I had ran it through my head to pop MF 3 times in a row every global since it’s low mana and would give me a full shadow weaving stack but I haven’t tried it. This weekend I’ll try it out and see how it works. =)

Leigh beat me to it. I’ve dropped sw:d out of my rotation on bosses. I don’t know empirically if that lowers my dps – last data I read said it boots dps by a very, very small amount in *theory* – but I find having one less cooldown to watch actually helps me out. A better player would take it in their stride of course

Can I ask about your list of buffs to wait for before casting sw:p? My understand is that sw:p damage is recalculated every time you cast mind flay (via pain and suffering) according to the buffs active at that time, which clearly makes it impossible to micro-manage. The refresh mechanic ignores shadow weaving, which is why we need to get that up first. But are you saying it ignores these buffs too? Or are you just assuming you need all buffs up for casting to get a super-charged sw:p? Because I don’t *think* it works like that.

On a similar point, I current spam mind flay three times at the start of a fight, to get 5 stacks up straight away (might as well enjoy the bug while it lasts, right?) That way VT and DP get the 10% boost too.

Use it if you want to lower your overall DPS. For the minimal damage it does and the GC it triggers you will do more damage with a MF then a SWD.
Only time to consider using SWD is if your glyphed for it and the boss is below 35% (even then it’s suspect) or if you are moving from A–>B and may as well avail of the instant cast on the way.

Want to talk about cheap? I’m still using the T4 helm.. I just put new northrend gems, meta and enchant on it and it stands up pretty well to the new stuff. It’ll do until I get a major upgrade but I won’t go out of my way for one since I need others more.

I’m convinced that I need to get a Titansteel Guardian made even with the incoming nerf. It’s ranked #1 on Shadowpriest.com and I’d rather have the crit than get the mp5 mace from Heroic Nexus (which dropped but I passed to a healer).